Schalk Burger expects a big impact from the Springbok bench against the Wallabies on Sunday, yet Jean de Villiers questions whether Rassie Erasmus missed a selection trick.
They were speaking with fellow former Bok Hanyani Shimange on the Boks Unpacked podcast, ahead of the one-off Test between South Africa and Australia in Perth.
Erasmus has made 13 changes to the side that beat the All Blacks two weeks ago, handing André Esterhuizen the captaincy and leaving only Eben Etzebeth and Ethan Hooker in their starting spots.
“One name I’m surprised isn’t in this 23 is Cameron Hanekom,” De Villiers said. “He kind of fits the mould of this younger group coming through, and he covers a few positions.
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“He didn’t start in any of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry games.”
The six-cap Hanekom scored his second Test try in the Greatest Rivalry decider, and Burger was impressed.
“How good was he in that Baltimore game? The steal, the tackle – it’s physicality, it’s carrying and at the breakdown he’s just as good. He’s a proper player.”
De Villiers sees Hanekom’s omission as part of a wider test for a much-changed pack featuring Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Johan Grobbelaar and Zachary Porthen alongside old heads Etzebeth and Franco Mostert.
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“The standard was set at Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry level in terms of physicality and dominance from a set-piece point of view. Can we do it as a group now, as a younger group? I think that’s a great challenge,” the ex-skipper said.
Burger added: “Herschel Jantjies gets a start, he comes back in; [Handré] Pollard, there’s no better 10 to set the tempo for a game.
“But you want to put the Wallabies under pressure defensively. That’s what we got a hold of at the back end of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry.
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“We scored 40 points, and I think we need to score close to 40 points again this weekend.”
He is also backing the replacements, headlined by soon-to-be 50-cap Jasper Wiese, to settle any nerves.
“There are a lot of changes, and things can get a bit disjointed. But look at our bench, because that’s the one area where I think we’ve got a massive advantage. What happens after 50 minutes if Ox Nché, Malcolm Marx and Wiese come in?”
“The second wave of destruction,” Shimange replied.
Photo: Steve Haag/Getty Images
The post Jean stunned by Bok omission in Perth appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Schalk Burger expects a big impact from the Springbok bench against the Wallabies on Sunday, yet Jean de Villiers questions whether Rassie Erasmus missed a selection trick.
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